


Anger Without Fear

by gaycheldare



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Prince Percy, Royalty, Thief Annabeth, i will continue this when inspiration strikes again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 21:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8594443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaycheldare/pseuds/gaycheldare
Summary: Percy Jackson had always been happy with his life, his family was perfect, he lived in an amazing castle and, most importantly, he was a prince. Everything was perfect. Until it wasn't anymore. His life is completely turned upside down when he is unexpectedly kidnapped by the wanted criminals.Annabeth Chase was a wanted criminal and she thought she would never be anything else. And now that she had kidnapped the Prince there would be no going back.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I have got myself into a complete block with this story, so I decided to just post what I have so far that isn’t garbage? Although it probably is still garbage. I probably will continue it at some point, once the inspiration comes back, but for now consider it chapter 1 of my percabeth royal!au.

Annabeth had managed to get into the palace without a hitch.

It wasn’t that much of a surprise due to her incessant planning and cautious movements.

She had planned this for months. She was not going to ruin it now. She really needed it to work too. She even managed to get detailed blueprints of the castle from a boy who worked there as a waiter.

The royal family of Corinth had put on a ball this evening, the 7th of April, in celebration of the King and Queens wedding anniversary. It was open to anyone who lived in the Kingdom who wished to attend, which Annabeth did. This gave her a perfect opportunity to get the money that she desperately needed.

She felt some guilt creeping in - was she a bad person? But as soon as Annabeth saw the extravagant decorations any ounce of guilt she had was gone.

The ballroom was simply breathtaking. It had elaborate, golden chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling and red, silk curtains with a gold trimming on the large alabaster windows. There was no denying the fact that Annabeth was mesmerised by the sheer detail put into the architecture. The walls had intricate designs carved into them and the ceiling was a huge mosaic showing the kingdom from a distance. She had always loved buildings. They were permanent, unlike everything else in her life. But now was not the time to be thinking of that. She had a job to do and to complete that job, she needed to get the Prince alone.

She ended up waiting for ages, something she wasn’t too keen about. But, in order to keep her cover, she had to dance with some of the men there. Each man she danced with was pompous and arrogant. If these were how the men from around the Kingdom acted, she could only imagine what the Prince would be like. Annabeth had never met him, and so she had only ever heard his speeches and seen him from a distance. And while he looked handsome and his skills as a public speaker were undoubtedly amazing, he had never appealed to Annabeth. Perhaps it was because of her distaste of the royal family in general. And besides, she could never be with someone who had never worked a day in their lives like him.

The same thought occurred to her now, as she watched him from across the room. He looked happy, although a little overwhelmed. Although, that could be because the room was so crowded with people. His black hair was gelled back, leaving his eyes out for all to see. His eyes sparkled a bright mix of blue and green. Probably from the light, Annabeth thought, No one’s eyes were that pretty. Except the boy from the village…

She shook her head to focus again. There was a beautiful girl next to him, who appeared to be around Annabeth and the Prince’s age. Probably a princess, Annabeth mused, her clothes certainly looked expensive enough to be one. A forest green dress with long, lacy sleeves and a golden hem which complimented her bright red curls, and fell nicely on her shoulders.

Annabeth had actually managed to steal a dress from a richer merchant in the village, and yet, next to this girl she still felt out of place. It was a light blue colour, with white accents. It had a lace up bodice and frilly skirt; to her annoyance. She hated dresses, but she had needed to blend in and there wasn’t enough time to find a more practical and comfortable dress.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Prince appeared to excuse himself and walked off. Now was her chance. Annabeth pushed through the crowds, not caring for the looks she received, and followed him out of the ballroom at a safe distance.

* * *

 

The corridors were almost as remarkable as the ballroom. They were lit by candles, which lit the normally cream coloured walls with a soft orange glow, making the hallway seem even dimmer. Annabeth could see that the floor was marble and the doors were made of ebony. It must be nice, Annabeth thought bitterly, to have enough money to buy whatever you want when so many could scarcely afford food.

How could these people have all this luxury when the villagers had next to nothing?

They were tyrants.

Monsters. All of them.

Which was why she had to do this. It wasn’t just for herself, it was for everyone. The aristocrats had to stop. They over taxed the poorer people of the Kingdom just so the could live a comfortable life of luxury.

These thoughts kept her going forward and stopped her from having any reservations.

The walkway seemed to go on for miles. Then again it probably did. This was a castle. Eventually, the Prince stopped.

Annabeth held her breath, waiting to see whether he would turn around and see her.

She poised herself, ready to strike. Her hand hovered over her left hip, ready to unsheath her dagger at a moments notice. Her heart was pumping at a rapid pace and she had to work hard to keep her breathing in check, so he wouldn’t hear her

Then he opened a door to his right and walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

Annabeth cursed. Now she was going to have to open the door to get in. She’d have to wait until he was asleep. But how would she be able to know that?

The balcony. Of course.

Nearly every room in the palace had a balcony, so the Prince’s room definitely would. He was the prince after all.

Annabeth smiled. Her plan might actually succeed without a hitch. Now, if she was going to climb then she’d have to change out of this stupid dress. It didn’t bother her as much as one would think.

* * *

 

Once she’d changed into some slacks and a blouse - from the closet she’d stashed them in earlier on- and tied her hair into a ponytail, she scaled the walls of the palace. The room was on the second floor, so it wasn’t too high, and the palace had ivy climbing up the exterior, making it easy for her to get to the balcony. Once she was there she could climb over the fence and go in through the archway.

She finally felt comfortable. Dresses and dancing weren’t really her style, but climbing a wall definitely was.

It was a bit harder than it looked, but Annabeth was a good climber. She’d always had to climb trees to hide in after stealing and she had been stealing for years now. It was like second nature to her.

After a few minutes, she grabbed the railings and hauled herself over them, landing silently. She unsheathed her celestial bronze dagger and rolled her shoulders before going through the archway and into the Princes chambers.

The room was incredible just like everything else in the castle. The walls glowed like abalone in the moonlight and the ceiling glittered with pieces of seashell and coral, which made the room look like the bottom of the ocean floor. There was even a fountain in front of the archway to the balcony, made of grey sea rock and coral, with a fish spouting the water from its mouth.

In the corner was a king-sized bed with sea green silk bedding. But the Prince wasn’t in it.

Damn it.

Annabeth had thought for sure he was going to bed straight away considering how tired he looked. So, she hid in the shadows, waiting for any sign of that could reveal where he was. He wasn’t in his room, that she knew for sure, so she guessed he was either in his closet or bathroom.

She took this time to mull over the options that she had. It was only a couple seconds before she concluded that she would have to pounce on him at a moments notice. That was the easiest and quickest plan compared to the others she had thought up. And time was of the essence.

After a few moments the bathroom door opened, the Prince trudging out. He had taken off his suit tie and jacket, leaving him in his shirt and trousers. His hair was no longer gelled back, instead it was messy, strands sticking up all over.

Annabeth held her breath as she waited for him to get closer.

He made his way over to the balcony. Closer to her.

Perfect.

His back would be turned to her once he went out.

As soon as he leaned against the balcony railing Annabeth crept forward and used the flat of her knife’s blade to knock him out.

He just had enough time to cry out in pain before he crumpled to the floor.

* * *

 

Annabeth hauled the Prince out of the palace without raising any alarms. With the party going on, all the security was focused at the front of the building (near the ballroom), meaning she could sneak out the back. The Royal Family was foolish for leaving the back open but she wasn’t complaining, it did make her job easier.

He was a lot heavier than Annabeth had predicted, but she was no stranger to hard work; she often worked 12 hour shifts at a time in the market just shifting boxes filled with food for the stall owners.

Once she was safely out the building Thalia met her, as they arranged, and helped carry him to their safe house. This was basically a large shed which was far enough away from the palace to avoid detection too quickly, whilst also being close enough so they could haul the Prince there. It was only temporary because they would be found by the Palace Guards within a day of them discovering the Prince was gone. They were planning on taking Percy to a faraway kingdom known as Atlantis, where no one would know who they were.

They had managed to talk to an old friend, Grover Underwood, who had a carriage which he had offered to let them ride in when he went to Atlantis. Luckily he didn’t ask any questions about why they were so desperate to get there.

Eventually, Annabeth and Thalia reached the safe house. It was even more dirty than she remembered and made of rotting wood. Annabeth’s arms felt very shaky and so she was glad for the respite when they finally got to put the Prince down.

He’d wake up again soon so they needed to work at securing the house, otherwise they’d be able to escape.

Annabeth searched around the small room, there were two doors, one to the outside and one to the toilet (or what seemed to be a toilet but was really a hole in the ground). She made sure the wooden door was shut and put the lock on. They had installed a chain and a latch into the door, which would make it harder for him to escape quickly.

Thalia was tying up the Prince with a rope they had gotten from the market, she tied him to the table leg -which was at the opposite end of the room to the door. Then, with a smirk on her face, Thalia took off her sock and stuffed it in his mouth as a gag.

“Is that really necessary?” Annabeth chortled.

Thalia shrugged in response, “I don’t want him shooting his mouth off about how great he is,”

Annabeth nodded, agreeing, she’d probably punch him if he started being arrogant, so maybe it was better to just stop him talking.

She stepped forward, wanting to sit in one of the two chairs around the table. Now the adrenaline had worn off she was really aching. Her arms felt fatigued and sore, and the balls of her feet were stinging slightly. Stupid shoes, she knew she should’ve changed into trainers, instead she stayed in her stupid ballet flats.

Just as she was about to reach the chair she felt a squelch under her feet, and suddenly her foot was wet.

Just great.

She sighed in frustration, “There’s water all over the floor. Is the roof leaking again?”

Thalia looked around, “It must be.”

The floor was horrible enough already. The people who first made this obviously couldn’t afford proper floorboards, and had just pieces of wood down, which meant that mud was starting to get everywhere through the gaps (especially when it rained).

Annabeth had always been used to these conditions though, so it didn’t faze her. The idea that the Prince would hate it was the main reason they’d chose the place. He’d probably never been in anything other than marble floors and silk decorations. Thinking about how he’d react made her sneer, maybe now he’d finally understand how horribly the village people live.

She doubted he’d care, but at least he’d get a taste of his own medicine.

She looked over at him, curious as to whether he’d woken up yet. He looked reasonably peaceful for someone who had just been kidnapped. His eyes were shut and his hair was all over the place after dragging him around. She supposed he was handsome, with a sharp jaw line and long eyelashes that fell onto his defined cheekbones. He wasn’t her type though. Of course not.

She had only ever had one proper crush, and he was nothing like this boy. He looked a bit like him, but he’d been so much kinder and much more considerate. She’d met him when her parents were finally able to pay for her to go to school in Atlantis, at the age of 13.

She had to quit again though 2 years later so she could move to Corinth to get a job and look after her twin brothers.

They were 10 now but they had been 7 when their parents had died.

Annabeth had been 15.

She didn’t like to think about it; it always made her sad, and she didn’t have time to be sad.

* * *

 

Thalia had just gone out to scout around the area to double check no-one had followed them. The journey felt a lot longer than it had done coming up here.

She had only really left because Annabeth looked so annoyed and Thalia did not want to listen to her complain about the royal family again. There was no way the Kingdom would know where they were. Plus, the infuriated look Annabeth had on her face when she left was enough to make her smirk and run away even faster. They had been friends for years, she couldn’t resist teasing her a little.

Was she wise to get herself into this? She knew she’d done it for Annabeth, and she’d do anything for her really - she was like her sister- but it was so dangerous. Although, if she hadn’t done this, she would have joined the Hunters anyway (who were a group of women bandits that robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, Robin Hood style). She was just so fed up, people always left, first her Dad, then Jason, and, more recently, Luke, it made sense to her. To run off and never come back. But Annabeth needed her.

She had made it almost to the top of the hill that surrounded the clearing, leaving their hideout in a ditch.

As it turns out she was right to be suspicious because just at the bottom of the hill she could see crowds of palace guards and horses, they didn’t seem to know exactly where they were but they definitely knew they were in this forest.

Sighing she turned back to their hideout to warn Annabeth.

Just as she did she heard a voice shout, “Over there!”

She didn’t have to turn around to know they were pointing at her. She started to sprint.

* * *

 

It had been ages. Thalia still wasn’t back.

It was hard to keep track of time where they were, but it was starting to get light again. They’d been there all night.

Had Thalia been caught?

Normally she’d go and look herself, but she couldn’t leave her captive alone.

Sighing, she got up from the chair and started to pace again. She’d been doing this all night and the Prince had eventually fallen asleep. It’d been silent for a really long time and Annabeth thought maybe she was going mad. Not that the Prince sleeping made much difference, they hadn’t spoken other than when he first woke up anyway.

She heard a noise from the area the Prince was tied to the table. When she turned to see if he’d woken up she saw that his face was scrunched up in pain. He must have been having a nightmare. Not that she cared. She snorted when she realised that he was drooling.

He must have felt someone staring at him in his sleep because he started to stir.

Annabeth watched as he tried to stretch but the restraints stopped him. His eyes flew open when he realised his predicament.

When his eyes met hers Annabeth was stupefied.

His eyes were sea-green after-all. Surely that was a coincidence?

She had only ever known one other person with eyes as unique as that.

_Annabeth sat down at her table. She was excited to finally be in school. Once she had organised her belongings she looked up. She scanned the classroom to see who was there. Three boys and one other girl, not including her._

_She studied each of her classmates._

_They all looked a bit richer than her except for the boy with black hair in front of her. His clothes were almost as ragged as hers._

_He must have felt her staring because he turned around…_

_His eyes were the first thing she noticed. They were blue and green at the same time, mimicking the ocean._

_He smiled at her. She smiled back._

Annabeth shook her head. She was being stupid. There was no way they were the same person. This was not him. He had gone missing years ago.

This boy was a Prince.

He showed no sign of recognising her either.

“What do you want me for?” He sighed, still not looking at her.

“That’s not information you need.”

He seemed to resign himself to the fact that he wouldn’t get an answer already. He was weak.

“I could help you, you know? If it’s money you’re after.” The Prince stated, “Our family has plenty of it.”

Annabeth sneered. As if she didn’t know that already. Maybe if she kept this up he would just shut up. She hoped Thalia would come back soon, just hearing him talk made her furious.

After the Prince had been quiet for a really long time, Annabeth looked over at him. He was staring wistfully out of the grimy window. He must have been looking at the castle, Annabeth deduced, you could see it from where they were on top of the large hill, just on the horizon.

They were in the middle of the forest which covered one half of the bottom of the hill, which the kingdom was on, with the palace at the top. She figured that they’d check the villagers houses first and scour the woods after. The forest would be hard to search because of its dense trees and wild undergrowth of vines and bushes.

Hopefully they wouldn’t find them before they got the chance to leave for Atlantis.

Annabeth had said goodbye to her brothers already. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, and she missed them terribly already. She knew they’d be safe though. She’d left them with a young couple, Silena Beauregard and Charlie Beckendorf, so she knew they’d be looked after.

They were two of the nicest people she’d ever met. They had said they’d look after the twins with no questions asked once Annabeth had told them she was going to another kingdom to work. Charlie was lucky, he was one of the best blacksmiths in the village and so was heavily sought out. Silena owned a popular market stall as well, which sold clothes - most of them made by her. They were some of the lucky ones who managed to get by in spite of living in the poorer area (like Annabeth).

She wondered if they were planning to get married or have children. Probably not. Weddings were expensive (so were children for that matter) and not many could afford it in the poorer areas of Corinth.

She really wanted to see her brothers again. It’d be too risky to go back now. She knew that, but she couldn’t help but hope to see them once more before she left indefinitely…

Then the door swung open and Thalia came in. She was out of breathe, red in the face and holding her sides.

She managed to gasp out, “Guards… forest…nearby…”

Annabeth was frozen. What would they do?

She started to think of a plan. Maybe going back to her brothers wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

* * *

 

The Prince was refusing to cooperate with Annabeth’s plan and it was really grating on her nerves. By putting a dagger at his neck she had, wrongly, assumed that he would blindly do whatever she wanted. Apparently he was a bit braver than she thought. She’d underestimated him and she couldn’t afford to do that again.

She had to give him a bit of credit, she supposed. It wasn’t everyday that someone stood up to her.

If the Prince would just do as she said then maybe they would get out of this alive.

“Would you please just cooperate? It’s not like you have anything else to do.” She was right as well, the Prince was tied up still, but this time one hand was tied to Annabeth’s wrist and the other to Thalia’s. The problem was he still had control over his feet.

She could hear the hooves of the guard’s horses coming closer. The ground was starting to shake a little from the force.

She needed to think of something. Quick.

If she could just get the Prince to walk.

She looked at his legs. They were exposed completely. The only control he had was that he could just not walk, and he was too heavy to carry when they needed to run. Annabeth remembered what she had learnt a long time ago…

Swiftly, she brought her leg up and twisted it behind his, giving him a swift kick in the back of his knee. The leg collapsed on itself. Thalia, quickly catching on, mimicked the move on his other leg.

He groaned out in pain as his other leg fell too.

They finally managed to get him to run. Just in time too.

“There they are.” Annabeth heard a shout from the other side of the forest clearing.

Without looking back to see how many guards there was she sprinted into the dense trees, hoping they would provide natural camouflage until they got to the road where their carriage would be waiting.

* * *

 

Annabeth had thought she was reasonably fit and healthy. And yet, after a few moments she was out of breathe. She guessed it was carrying the Prince’s dead weight. She wondered briefly what his name was. To be honest though, she didn’t really care.

She was here for the money. Not to make friends with someone she despised.

Her lungs were burning by the time they reached the dirt path that ran through the forest. Her heart pounded as she could ground to a halt.

Once she turned around she saw that Thalia and their captive too were red-faced and gasping. Maybe they’d run further than she had thought.

“We’re meeting Grover on this road, right?” Thalia checked.

“Yes. He said the road that runs around Corinth and then goes to Atlanta,” Annabeth answered, “And that’s the only one that goes through this forest.”

Sighing with relief, Thalia sat down. Unfortunately, she pulled the Prince and Annabeth with her. They all crumpled into a heap on the floor. Annabeth barely had time to register that she was lying on top of the Prince before he quickly untangled himself. She wondered whether his face had got even redder.

Annabeths mouth suddenly felt really dry.

“It’s a shame we didn’t have time to pick up any supplies,” Annabeth mused, “I could really do with some water,”

She untied the rope around her wrist, freeing herself so she could get up and search for a freshwater source.

“I’ll go and see if I can find any.” She stated, before walking off briskly, praying her already flushed face disguised her blush.

What was wrong with her? He was a Prince.

She wasn’t going to deny that he was attractive but she hated him. Or at least what he represented. She supposed that he had always stayed out of the spotlight, she didn’t even know his name after all. But his family was evil, so he must be. Right?

She walked for a few more minutes in her search, but came aware of the gloomy darkness starting to descend on the forest. Too early to be darkness, so it must be about to rain. Annabeth sighed, just what they needed.

Then the rain started to fall.

* * *

 

Fall probably wasn’t an accurate word for Annabeth to have used. Plummet might have been more accurate.

It had to be the heaviest rainstorm she had seen in years.

Her vision had turned hazy and she kept sliding around because the ground had become slippery mud. As she made her way back to Thalia she nearly fell face first three times.

By the time she did make it back she was grumbling to herself and covered, head to toe, in mud.

She would definitely need new shoes.

“Just in time, Annabeth.” Thalia grinned at her, “Grover’s here.”

She hadn’t noticed because of the blurriness of her surroundings since the rain started, but on the previously empty road there was now a brown carriage with a horse carrying it. There was also a driver sitting at the front of the carriage.

She smiled and waved at him as soon as she recognised his face. Grover.

Seeing him after all these years felt like a punch in the stomach, making her feel winded. She had really missed him. He still had the same curly hair as she remembered but his face had matured.

Since she had left Atlantis she had cut all ties with everyone except Thalia. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with her old life since her parents died; she did all she could to just forget everything. Nothing worked, though. It was only because Thalia still spoke to Grover that she was able to get him to do her this favour now.

“Three people to Atlantis?” He said motioning with his hand behind him for us to sit in the carriage.

Thalia got up and untied her rope from the Prince too, and then tied his hands behind his back. She then shoved him into the carriage and got in beside him.

Annabeth got in after them, sitting in the seats opposite them. She was also facing Grover, who winked at her.

“Nice to see you after all this time, Annabeth,” He smiled genuinely, “Now lets go.”

Without a second to spare he lifted the reins up, and the horses started to move again.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank the @pjohoobigbang for being so awesome and helping us all to write and draw some amazing stuff by hosting this event! Also, thank you to my amazing artist @birdofaskycoloredhue and my betas @existentiallytired , @universalcupcake28 and @fxckingpercabeth , thank you for being so patient, I couldn’t have even gotten this far without you all. It’s been great to get to know you guys too!


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